comfortable

Kiuhnm

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Jun 16, 2012, 10:37:54 AM6/16/12

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What's the American pronunciation of "comfortable"?
I might have heard "c@mfterb@l" (yes, with the /r/ sound after the /t/
sound) in more than a few movies. Is this possible?

Kiuhnm

Tony the Ice Man

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Jun 16, 2012, 12:37:04 PM6/16/12

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> What's the American pronunciation of "comfortable"?
> I might have heard "c@mfterb@l" (yes, with the /r/ sound after the /t/
> sound) in more than a few movies. Is this possible?

Bizarre but true. This pronunciation is typical in the US. Or course,
the correct, well-articulated pronunciation follows the letters in their
written order. I sometimes slack off and eliminate a syllable when
pronouncing that word in casual situations.

In fact, I think that's why the pronunciation may be changing. Saying
the syllable "a" slows the speaker down, but eliminating it leaves the
dilemma of transitioning from a "t" to a "b." A transition from a "r" to
a "b" is more natural.

Kiuhnm

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Jun 16, 2012, 1:56:15 PM6/16/12

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On 6/16/2012 18:37, Tony the Ice Man wrote:
>> What's the American pronunciation of "comfortable"?
>> I might have heard "c@mfterb@l" (yes, with the /r/ sound after the /t/
>> sound) in more than a few movies. Is this possible?
>
> Bizarre but true. This pronunciation is typical in the US. Or course,
> the correct, well-articulated pronunciation follows the letters in their
> written order. I sometimes slack off and eliminate a syllable when
> pronouncing that word in casual situations.

Do you say "c@nftb@l"? That's also the British way :) In fact, I've
always pronounced it that way until I realized that American people do
not. British speakers tend to eliminate syllables a lot.

> In fact, I think that's why the pronunciation may be changing. Saying
> the syllable "a" slows the speaker down, but eliminating it leaves the
> dilemma of transitioning from a "t" to a "b." A transition from a "r" to
> a "b" is more natural.

Schwas aside, do you mean comftabl, comfbal, comforbal or what?

Kiuhnm

Tony the Ice Man

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Jun 17, 2012, 3:03:06 AM6/17/12

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>>> What's the American pronunciation of "comfortable"?
>>> I might have heard "c@mfterb@l" (yes, with the /r/ sound after the /t/
>>> sound) in more than a few movies. Is this possible?
>> Bizarre but true. This pronunciation is typical in the US. Or course,
>> the correct, well-articulated pronunciation follows the letters in their
>> written order. I sometimes slack off and eliminate a syllable when
>> pronouncing that word in casual situations.
> Do you say "c@nftb@l"? That's also the British way :) In fact, I've
> always pronounced it that way until I realized that American people do
> not. British speakers tend to eliminate syllables a lot.

I definitely do not insert an "n." That would be dangerous.

>> In fact, I think that's why the pronunciation may be changing. Saying
>> the syllable "a" slows the speaker down, but eliminating it leaves the
>> dilemma of transitioning from a "t" to a "b." A transition from a "r" to
>> a "b" is more natural.
> Schwas aside, do you mean comftabl, comfbal, comforbal or what?

comf-ter-ble

The Merriam-webster dictionary offers three pronunciations.
\ˈkəm(p)(f)-tə(r)-bəl, ˈkəm(p)-fə(r)-tə-bəl, ˈkəm-fə(r)-bəl\

I would imagine that my casual pronunciation is closest to the first,
and my formal pronunciation is closest to the second.

The Oxford Learner's Dictionary online offers audio of both American
English pronunciations and the related British pronunciations.
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/comfortable

If you are interested in a discussion of different pronunciations you
might want to look at this.
http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t936.htm

edevils

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Jun 17, 2012, 4:07:27 AM6/17/12

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> > I might have heard "c@mfterb@l" (yes, with the /r/ sound after
the /t/

> Bizarre but true. This pronunciation is typical in the US. Or
course,

Are there other words pronounced like that?

--
-- Just my 2 cents

Kiuhnm

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Jun 17, 2012, 7:01:12 AM6/17/12

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On 6/17/2012 9:03, Tony the Ice Man wrote:
>>>> What's the American pronunciation of "comfortable"?
>>>> I might have heard "c@mfterb@l" (yes, with the /r/ sound after the /t/
>>>> sound) in more than a few movies. Is this possible?
>>> Bizarre but true. This pronunciation is typical in the US. Or course,
>>> the correct, well-articulated pronunciation follows the letters in their
>>> written order. I sometimes slack off and eliminate a syllable when
>>> pronouncing that word in casual situations.
>> Do you say "c@nftb@l"? That's also the British way :) In fact, I've
>> always pronounced it that way until I realized that American people do
>> not. British speakers tend to eliminate syllables a lot.
>
> I definitely do not insert an "n." That would be dangerous.

Sorry. That wasn't intentional. The closest Italian word to
"comfortable" is "confortevole" and, moreover, I'm 99% sure that "mf"
doesn't appear in any Italian word.

>>> In fact, I think that's why the pronunciation may be changing. Saying
>>> the syllable "a" slows the speaker down, but eliminating it leaves the
>>> dilemma of transitioning from a "t" to a "b." A transition from a "r" to
>>> a "b" is more natural.
>> Schwas aside, do you mean comftabl, comfbal, comforbal or what?
>
> comf-ter-ble
>
> The Merriam-webster dictionary offers three pronunciations.
> \ˈkəm(p)(f)-tə(r)-bəl, ˈkəm(p)-fə(r)-tə-bəl, ˈkəm-fə(r)-bəl\
>
> I would imagine that my casual pronunciation is closest to the first,
> and my formal pronunciation is closest to the second.

The first one has the 'r' and 't' sounds swapped, though, or do you omit
the 'r' sound? Without the 'r', it's basically the British pronunciation
I was talking about.
Sorry if I'm being too pedant here :)

> The Oxford Learner's Dictionary online offers audio of both American
> English pronunciations and the related British pronunciations.
> http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/comfortable
>
> If you are interested in a discussion of different pronunciations you
> might want to look at this.
> http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t936.htm

Interesting. Thanks.

Kiuhnm

Tony the Ice Man

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Jun 17, 2012, 1:16:18 PM6/17/12

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>>>> In fact, I think that's why the pronunciation may be changing. Saying
>>>> the syllable "a" slows the speaker down, but eliminating it leaves the
>>>> dilemma of transitioning from a "t" to a "b." A transition from a
>>>> "r" to a "b" is more natural.
>>> Schwas aside, do you mean comftabl, comfbal, comforbal or what?
>> comf-ter-ble
>> The Merriam-webster dictionary offers three pronunciations.
>> \ˈkəm(p)(f)-tə(r)-bəl, ˈkəm(p)-fə(r)-tə-bəl, ˈkəm-fə(r)-bəl\
> > I would imagine that my casual pronunciation is closest to the first,
>> and my formal pronunciation is closest to the second.
> The first one has the 'r' and 't' sounds swapped, though, or do you omit
> the 'r' sound? Without the 'r', it's basically the British pronunciation
> I was talking about.
> Sorry if I'm being too pedant here :)

Pedant is the noun form. One normally says "I'm being too pedantic."
It's less common but acceptable to say "I'm being a pedant."

I never omit the 'r' in comfortable. As I explained above, it is more
natural to say the 'r' preceding the 'b' than the 't' preceding the 'b,'
when omitting the "a" syllable.

Tony the Ice Man

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Jun 17, 2012, 1:27:23 PM6/17/12

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>> > I might have heard "c@mfterb@l" (yes, with the /r/ sound after
> the /t/
>> Bizarre but true. This pronunciation is typical in the US. Or
> course,
> Are there other words pronounced like that?

Only com-fort-a-ble is pronounced as comf-ter-ble, but there are many
pronunciations in English that are not decipherable from the spelling.
Given the serendipity of writing the similar -able word
de/ciph/er/a/ble, I can say that one usually pronounces all 5 syllables.
It is a word that is used less often than comfortable. However, if by
some technological innovation in the culture it became very frequently
used, I would imagine that people would start taking the shortcut of
saying de/ciph/re/ble.

ADPUF

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Jun 17, 2012, 5:56:06 PM6/17/12

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Tony the Ice Man, 19:16, domenica 17 giugno 2012:

Pronouncing "comfortable" correctly isn't that comfortable.

--
The secret source of humor is not joy but sorrow; there is no
humor in Heaven.
-- Mark Twain

Joe from NY

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Jun 17, 2012, 6:54:21 PM6/17/12

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On Sat, 16 Jun 2012 10:37:54 -0400, Kiuhnm wrote
(in article <4fdc9a49$0$1382$4faf...@reader1.news.tin.it>):

Where I come from (New England) where Rs are often omitted, it's pronounced
"c@mft@bl." No hint of an R.

That's my usual pronunciation, even though I've managed to divest of most of
the other regional sounds of the Boston accent. If I happen to be speaking
publicly I pronounce all four syllables as it's written, more or less:
'cum-f@rt-@-bl."

--
Joey from New York
Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator,
but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.
-- WH Auden

edevils

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Jun 18, 2012, 9:18:27 AM6/18/12

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"ADPUF" wrote

> Pronouncing "comfortable" correctly isn't that comfortable.

Just say "comfy" :)

edevils

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Jun 18, 2012, 9:24:21 AM6/18/12

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"Joe from NY" wrote

> If I happen to be speaking
> publicly I pronounce all four syllables as it's written, more or less:
> 'cum-f@rt-@-bl."

Defnly! :D

Joe from NY

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Jun 18, 2012, 1:32:23 PM6/18/12

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On Mon, 18 Jun 2012 09:24:21 -0400, edevils wrote
(in article <jrna65$fq1$1...@speranza.aioe.org>):

I se wht y dd thr.

Enrico il Pentolaio

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Jun 20, 2012, 2:15:20 PM6/20/12

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Cazzo, e' vero! :D

--
Enrico il Pentolaio.